The dispraise of folly.
I. FOLLY MARS THE FINEST REPUTATION.
As one sinner destroyeth much good (Ecclesiastes 9:18), and flies of death, or poisonous flies, cause the ointment of the perfumer to send forth a stinking savor, so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
1. It mars their beauty. As the poisonous flies so affect the perfumer's ointment that it begins to ferment and lose its fragrance, a little folly mixed up with a great deal of wisdom and honor impairs these in such a fashion and to such an extent, that they cease to attract the good opinion of beholders, and the person possessed of them is rather known as a fool than esteemed as a wise man.
2. It destroys their value. As the dealer in ointments cannot sell his corrupted pigment, so neither can the man whose wisdom and honor are tainted with folly any longer wield that power for good he might otherwise have done. The influence exerted by his wisdom and honor is directly counteracted and frequently overbalanced by the influence of his folly.
II. FOLLY CONSTITUTES AN UNSAFE GUIDE. "The wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left." This has been thought to mean:
1. The fool's heart is in the wrong place, in contrast to the wise man's, which is always in the right place (Hengstenberg). This sentiment is true. The fool's heart is not directed towards those objects upon which its affections ought to be set, while the wise man's is. This enough to make folly an unsafe conductor.
2. The fool's heart never acts at the right time, while the wise man's does (Ginsburg), because the wise man's heart is always at his right hand, his acting hand, his working hand; while the fool's is always at the left hand, the wrong hand, the hand with which a person usually finds it difficult to act. This a second reason why no man should accept folly as a leader. It can never seize the opportunity, never strike while the iron is hot, never do anything at the proper moment or in an efficient manner.
3. The fool's heart is always unlucky in its auguries, whereas the wise man's heart is always lucky (Plumptre). If this were the correct interpretation—which we think it is not—it would state what would not be surprising, were it true, that the fool's forecasts were usually falsified, and would present another argument for not committing one's self to the directorship of folly.
4. The fool's heart always leads in the wrong direction, as distinguished from the right direction in which the wise man's heart ever goes. This, undoubtedly, is true. The fool is a person wholly destitute of that wisdom which is profitable to direct (verse 10), and without which no man can walk safely (Proverbs 3:23). A final consideration against enrolling beneath the banner of folly.
III. POLLY INVARIABLY BETRAYS ITS OWN STUPIDITY. "Yea also, when the fool walketh by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool." As it is certain that no man can conceal his true character for ever, or even for long, so likewise is it certain that a zany, a buffoon, a fool, will discover his sooner than most people. He will proclaim himself to be a fool:
1. By his irrational behavior. His understanding will fail him at critical times and on important subjects. He will reveal his ignorance, want of sense, lack of principle, emptiness of grace.
2. In the most public manner. As he walks by the way. As not being in the least degree ashamed of his folly, perhaps hardly conscious he is making such an exhibition of himself.
3. To the most unlimited extent. He will make himself known, not to his friends in private, but to his neighbors in the street, and not to one or two merely of these, but to every one he meets.
IV. FOLLY FREQUENTLY ASCRIBES ITS OWN CHARACTER TO OTHERS. The fool saith of every one he meets, "He is a fool," i.e. the individual whom he meets is (Vulgate, Luther, Plumptre). Though this translation is doubtful, it supplies a true thought; that as insane people often count all but themselves insane, so fools—intellectual, moral, and religious—not infrequently regard themselves as the only truly wise persons, and look upon the rest of mankind as fools.
V. FOLLY IS OFTEN GUILTY OF GREAT RASHNESS. "If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding allayeth great offences" (verse 4). The folly here alluded to consists in three things.
1. In flaming up into indignation at an unmerited accusation. Charges of such sort were to be expected by one who served an Oriental despot, and are not uncommon in ordinary life in the experience of subordinates who serve choleric masters. "The spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes" are no doubt hard to bear; but it is not a sign of wisdom to fume against them, and fret one's self into anger.
2. In hastily retiring from the post of duty. As a statesman might resign his seals of office on being reprimanded by his sovereign, or a workman lay down his tools on being challenged by his master, or a domestic servant throw up her situation on being found fault with by her mistress.
3. In failing to see the better way of meekness and submission. The advantages of gently and patiently bearing false accusations or unjust ebullitions of temper against one are obvious. Such yielding
VI. FOLLY SOMETIMES ATTAINS TO UNDESERVED HONOR. "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun … folly set in great dignity, and the rich in low place … servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth" (verses 5-7).
1. The commonness of this phenomenon. "The eunuch Bagoas long all-powerful at the Persian court" (Delitzsch), Louis XI. exalting the base-born to places of honor, and Edward II; James I. of England or Henry III. of France, lavishing dignities on their minions, may be cited as examples. Nothing more frequent in everyday life than to see persons of small capacity and little worth promoted over the heads of their superiors in talent and goodness.
2. The cause of this phenomenon. In one sense the wisdom of God, the chief Ruler of men and things (Hengstenberg), but in another sense, and that the one here intended, the arbitrary power of men "dressed in a little brief authority."
3. The evil of this phenomenon. It discourages merit, and inflates folly with pride; rewards incapacity, and despises real ability; places influence in wrong hands, and weakens the power of good men to benefit their age.
VII. FOLLY SELDOM KNOWS WHEN TO HOLD ITS TONGUE. "The lips of a fool will swallow up himself," etc. (verses 12-14).
1. The wise man's words are few, the fool's endless. The former is "swift to hear, but slow to speak" (James 1:19); the latter hears nothing, learns less, and chatters incessantly. The former is known by his silence (Proverbs 17:28; Proverbs 29:11); the latter, by the multitude of his words (verse 3).
2. The wise man's words are gracious, the fool's ruinous. The lips of the wise are a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 15:4), and disperse knowledge amongst their fellows (Proverbs 15:7), whilst they preserve themselves (Proverbs 14:3); but a fool's mouth is his own destruction (Proverbs 17:7), and the complete beggarment of all that listen to him (Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 17:7).
3. The wise man's words improve as they proceed, the fool's deteriorate as they flow. The former carry with them the ripe fruits of thought and experience, growing richer and weightier as they move slowly on; the latter progress from bad to worse, beginning with foolishness and ending with mischievous madness.
VIII. FOLLY IS FREQUENTLY UNABLE TO DO THE SIMPLEST THINGS. "The labor of fools wearieth every one of them, for he knoweth not how to go to the city" (verse 15).
1. The fool's ignorance is dense. So simple a matter as finding his way along a country road to the city is beyond his comprehension. Plumptre cites in illustration the proverbs, "None but a fool is lost on a straight road," and "The 'why' is plain as way to parish church."
2. The fool's presumption is immense. He who cannot do so small a matter as find his way to the city proposes to "enlighten the world and make it happy" through his words or his works. So people who know nothing about a subject often imagine themselves qualified to teach it to others, and persons of no capacity put themselves forward to attempt undertakings of greatest difficulty.
3. The fool's labor is vast. Having neither knowledge nor ability, he labors with "great travail" to expound what he does not understand, and perform what he has neither brains nor hands to execute.
LESSONS.
1. Forsake the foolish and live (Proverbs 9:6).
2. Get wisdom; get understanding (Proverbs 4:5).